QR issue warning after three near misses at Ipswich stations

QUEENSLAND Rail has issued a stern warning about not treating railways as playgrounds following a string of near misses at Ipswich stations.

In May Queensland Rail recorded three separate incidents putting children at risk of injury; two at Bundamba Station and one at Rosewood Station.

In one of those incidents a toddler nearly fell between the train and the platform. In another a teenage girl, who missed her train, ran across the rail tracks to speak to her friends on a different platform.

At Rosewood Station children as young as 12 were seen climbing on the handrail of the overbridge.

Queensland Rail General Manager Safety, Greg Fill, said trains can travel up to 100kms per hour and take hundreds of metres to stop.

"They can't swerve to avoid people," he said.

"Thinking you are fast enough to beat an oncoming train is just plain foolish, as is assuming that the train is stopping because there are many express services.

"We want young people to understand they are placing themselves and others in danger and that the consequences can be tragic.

"This includes youths taking short cuts across the rails between platforms to speak to their friends and children running their hands along incoming trains on the platform."

Mr Fill says safe conduct at train stations is a topic that should be raised by parents at home to ensure children understand the very real dangers of misbehaving on railways.

This year two people have suffered serious injuries from an electric shock after coming into contact with overhead power lines.

Late last year a man was electrocuted while working on graffiti along the track.